Taliban stockpiling opium to control world prices
United Nations Officials believe that the Taliban is hiding opium and preventing it from entering the world drug market to keep prices high.
From Time Magazine:
According to the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime, between 6,000 and 8,000 tons of opium have vanished during the past three years somewhere between the poppy fields of Afghanistan — [...]
Afghan governor tries to persuade, not eradicate opium farmers
An Afghan governor is attempting to persuade farmers not to plant opium instead of eradicating the crop after it has been planted.
From the IHT:
As the new planting season for opium poppy draws near, the governor of Helmand, Afghanistan’s largest poppy-producing province, says that this year he is determined to beat the illicit crop, which is [...]
Brother of Afghan President linked to drug trafficking
The brother of Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai is being linked to the drug trade in the country, according to a report.
From the New York Times:
When Afghan security forces found an enormous cache of heroin hidden beneath concrete blocks in a tractor-trailer outside Kandahar in 2004, the local Afghan commander quickly impounded the truck and notified [...]
NATO to target drug traffickers in Afghanistan
NATO announced that it will begin targeting drug trafficking in Afghanistan to limit the amount of revenue that the Taliban receives from the drug trade.
From the NY Times:
NATO forces in Afghanistan will step up attacks on drug lords and narcotics traffickers who are supporting an insurgency that has rebounded in the past year and is responsible for rising [...]
Smugglers and refiners of heroin earn $3.5 billion in Afghanistan
Source: “No quick fixes,” The Economist, June 21, 2008, page 54.
Opium farmers in Afghanistan earn an estimated $500 million annualy
Source: “No quick fixes,” The Economist, June 21, 2008, page 54.
Slight gains against opium in Afghanistan
The United Nations is reporting that cultivation of opium in Afghanistan has slightly decreased in 2008.
From BBC News:
The area of poppy production in Afghanistan and the yield of opium from these crops have reduced this year compared with 2007, a UN report says.
It says more than half of the country’s 34 provinces are now poppy-free [...]
Drug lords in Afghanistan recruiting chemists
The United Nations Office on Crime and Drugs is reporting that Afghan drug lords are recruiting foreign chemists to assist in their drug production.
From the Financial Times:
Drug lords in Afghanistan, where poppy growing has soared in spite of the billions that western powers have spent in trying to stamp it out, have started to recruit [...]
Afghan Government protecting drug lords says former Bush Official
In a early release of the Sunday New York Times Magazine, former Bush Administration Official Thomas Schweich writes that the highest levels of the Afghan Government is allowing the drug trade to flourish.
From the BBC News article on the report:
Afghan President Hamid Karzai is obstructing efforts to tackle his country’s drugs problem, says a former [...]
Rebels increasing hold on drug land
Rebels in Afghanistan and Colombia are increasingly controlling land where illegal drugs are being grown, according to the United Nations.
From BBC News:
Afghanistan had a record opium harvest last year and coca leaf production in Colombia increased 27%, according to The World Drug Report 2008.
The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) says most regions where [...]
